The District Museum Building in Bydgoszcz is an historical building in Bydgoszcz located at Gdanska Street 4.
Location
The building stands near Poor Clares' Church, in Bydgoszcz's downtown district.
History
Historically, the building is associated with the 15th-century hospital and shelter Church of Holy Spirit. Originally it was only two wooden workhouses, located outside of the old city of Bydgoszcz, thus hindering potential transmissions of epidemic diseases. A plaque mentioning the date of 1593 is still present at the ground floor of the actual building: it confirms that a brick-made hospital was still standing here at the end of the 16th century. In 1618, a new edifice has been erected: the convent of the Poor Clares in Bydgoszcz. This monastery built in 3 years, was close to the Poor Clares' ancient Church of the Holy Ghost. In the 17th century, with the expansion of the monastery, cloisters were constructed, connecting the monastery to the church of the Poor Clares. These cloisters were demolished at the end of the 18th century, when Bydgoszcz passed under the authority of the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1830-1840, the monastery building was partly restored. According to a local account carried out in 1760, the monastery of the Poor Clares was reported to have a huge amount of goods: a distillery, stables, coach houses, a brewery, a fish pond and gardens. In January 1834, the Prussian authorities announced the secularization of the convent of Poor Clares, and in 1837 the monastery and the church became the property of the city of Bydgoszcz. The monastery buildings were initially planned to become a school, but eventually a municipal clinic was established. Re-customized halls could accommodate 28 beds, and in the mid-19th century, building interiors were refurbished to fit the new needs of the hospital. Between 1861 and 1863, the dismantling of the cloister definitely separated the church from the former monastery building. In 1878, Wilhelm Lincke, city building counselor, approved the addition of a wing along Gdanska street, with Renaissance Revival architecture and Mannerism style, like the adjoined street building facades. In 1937, the Municipal Hospital was accommodating 70 beds and was admitting 600 patients per year and at this date, it was transferred to another part of town. During the period 1938-1945, the building housed the Department of Social Welfare Office of the City. The facility has been housing since April 11, 1946, the District Museum of the city, then the administrative seat of Bydgoszcz museums, named after Leon Wyczółkowski. It displays a rich collection of works by the artist, and a valuable collection of contemporary art works throughout several sites in the city.
Architecture
The building is a 3 stairs and two-winged structure. The main edifice has a Mansard roof. The front elevation displays bossages, and the portal is adorned with columns. Each wing and its slight avant-corps is topped with a gable and decorated pilasters. The building has been registered on the Pomeranian Heritage List, 22 April 1953 and 12 May 1993.
